In exchange for setting and running their torture program, which has been called “sadistic and terrifying” by one member of the CIA, these contractors were paid $81 million dollars. The report also showed that the CIA trained and staffed their facilities with numerous soldiers who had previously admitted or were disciplined for sexual assaults, anger management issues or engaging in inappropriate interrogations. This led to various incidents of mistreatment including death and mistakenly torturing two CIA informants. In response to the report, the CIA released a rebuttal defending their use of torture. However, they also admit “mismanagement at multiple levels” and inflating the importance of some information gained through torture.
Why are we trying Bales? In the article “fReeBale-Yes!” English professor Michael Fisher introduces his readers to a recent crime committed by a US Army soldier who allegedly shot and killed 16-17 innocent lives while deployed on a tour in Afghanistan. Fisher states that Staff Sergeant Robert Bales should plead guilty for the charges against him whether he committed them or not. I personally respect Fishers argument although I strongly believe Bales has already established a foundation for a path towards his own freedom by receiving the right to be tried in the US rather than the country his crime was committed in. Fisher proposes valuable points about the possible outcome of this trial if Bales was to be set free by the American court system.
December 8, 2011 A Comparative Critique of “The Genocidal Killer in the Mirror” and “The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal: Sources of Sadism” The subject of obedience to authority to the point where a human would cause physical harm to another human has been greatly debated among modern critics. In his article “The Genocidal Killer in the Mirror”, Crispin Sartwell suggests that the average ordinary citizen will participate in mass genocide. In contrast, “The Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal: Sources of Sadism” by Marianne Szegedy-Maszak focuses on the response of soldiers in the military to their superiors. Both articles cover ground dealing with man’s response to social consensus and obedience. In contrast, however, Sartwell’s article focuses primarily upon the civilian aspect of obedience, whereas Szegedy-Maszak focuses more upon the military aspect.
Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment and Stanley Milgram’s Behavioral Study of Obedience have provoked controversy amongst individuals interested in the study of human psychology. Critics have claimed that both studies were unethical and caused serious harm to the participants. Although both trials were later reviewed by the American Psychological Association and approved, many debates and additional research ensued. The strengths, weaknesses and underlying ethics of both studies still provide ample reason for further examination. Only three months after the start of trials for Adolf Eichmann (a Nazi war criminal), Milgram formulated an experiment to question this dispositional view.
* This suggests that while the deprivation model may be applicable to prison environments, it may not be relevant to violence within psychiatric institutions. * Massacres are often a form of institutional aggression often committed during wartime, such as the massacres of Jews during World War II. * Milgram argues that this happens due to the situational pressures of war, which causes soldiers to obey their leaders. * This can be demonstrated by the fact that in the Holocaust, many soldiers claimed that they were simply following their superiors' orders. * Goldhagen argues that the Holocaust was not due to obedience, but due to the anti-Semitism which was prevalent at that
In the Abu Ghraib prison scandal of 2004, Iraqi prisoners were interrogated where accounts of psychololgical, physical and sexual abuse, including torture, rape and homicide. This “form” of interrogation was practiced my U.S. military police at the prison. Although the solders are responsible for there actions they where under strict orders that went against the Geneva convention conduct of war. When the scandal surfaced the U.S. government denied all knowledge and participation and blamed the solders. After comparing the Abu Ghraib schandle and the Milgram experiment its easy to see that the government had a big roll in influencing soilders.
Bowling for Columbine Michael Moore’s award winning documentary of 2002, Bowling for Columbine, sets out to determine why America has such a high rate of domestic gun violence. Cunningly exploiting interview techniques when speaking with Marilyn Manson, Moore attacks the news media, suggesting a prevailing culture of fear which exists among the American public. Similarly, in another interview with Matt Stone, the director highlights the interviewee’s sense of trust and power, this time confronting the fatal flaws which are evident among the American government and education systems. The director conducts interviews in order to aid his portrayal of different groups and individuals. When Moore conducts interviews with people whom he intends to foreground as trustworthy and intelligent, the atmosphere is very relaxed and laid back.
Horton accuses the governing body of frequently exploiting its power in having the Justice Department instigate repression among voters. Furthermore, the lawyers who were inspecting the unlawful actions of these political criminals were quietly discharged of their duty and the incriminating evidence was concealed. The Bush administration was also spying regularly on religious and political groups in the country, while it covertly introduced a tremendously illegal surveillance program that caused conflict among senior officials in the Justice Department. Horton attributes this illicit monitoring device as the reason behind the “War on Terror” because it misleadingly revealed all of intelligence’s information on Iraq to both
Even those Arab Americans who were already incarcerated experienced unjust treatment by police officers. Events leading up to September 11 2001. Retrieved from http://www.gcsehistory.org.uk/modernworld/terrorism/buildupto911.htm This website speaks about events leading up to 9/11. These events caused a buildup which lead to the events of 9/11. There are quotes directly from Osama bid Laden stating why he chose to target America.
AMERICA’S PRISONS Are American prisons fair or unfair? Are they torture holes or rehabilitation centers for those who have made a mistake? Many people ask those questions when it comes to the American prison system. I am here to tell you the truth about our prisons with cold hard facts I have discovered throughout my research. I personally believe that American prisons can be quite harsh when it comes down to how the prisoners are treated.